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The Venture Bros.
| format = Action Comedy | runtime = 0:30 (per episode, including commercial break) | creator = Jackson Publick | starring = James Urbaniak Christopher McCulloch Michael Sinterniklaas Patrick Warburton Doc Hammer | country = United States | network = Cartoon Network (US) Teletoon (Canada) | first_aired = August 7, 2004 | last_aired = present | num_episodes = 28 (13 more to air) (1 pilot and 1 special) | imdb_id = 0417373 }} The Venture Bros. is an American animated television series airing as part of Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. It chronicles the adventures of two dopey teenage boys, their super-scientist father, and their father's secret-agent bodyguard. The series pays homage to the style of the classic Hanna-Barbara action series Jonny Quest: Hank and Dean's roles resemble those of Jonny and Hadji, Dr. Venture is a caricature of Dr. Benton Quest, and Brock Samson can be considered as a testosterone-loaded, excessively-violent take on Race Bannon. It has been stated by the show's creators that the show also parodies Hardy Boys mysteries and comic super heroes, although the show does not focus exclusively on parody. Show creator Jackson Publick (a pseudonym for Christopher McCulloch) was one of the main writers for the Saturday morning animated show The Tick, and Ben Edlund, creator of The Tick, has co-written one episode of The Venture Bros. (Patrick Warburton, who played the Tick in the short-lived live-action series, also provides the voice of Brock Samson.) The second season of the series premiered on the internet via Adult Swim Fix Premiered on the World Wide Web as part of Adult Swim Fix prior to the television broadcast http://www.adultswim.com/adultswimfix/venturebros/index.html?11. on June 23, 2006 and is scheduled to premiere on TV on June 25, 2006. The considerable delay between the end of the first season and the start of the second was partially caused by Adult Swim's delay in deciding whether to renew the show but was mainly caused by the fact that the show is drawn and inked in the traditional animation style, albeit digitally, causing each episode to take considerable time to move through production. Origins Christopher McCulloch, alias Jackson Publick, created the The Venture Bros. storyline sometime prior to 2000. After working for the television programs Sheep in the Big City and the live-action The Tick, McCulloch set to turning the The Venture Bros. into an animated series. The Venture Bros. was originally conceived of as a comic book story for an issue of Monkeysuit. McCulloch realized that his notes were too extensive for a short comic story, and decided to pitch it as an animated series to Comedy Central, but it was rejected. After writing the pilot script in the spring of 2000, the premise was not greenlit until around the summer of 2002 by Adult Swim. Prior to realizing that Cartoon Network had an adult-themed block, "Adult Swim", McCulloch did not consider Cartoon Network because he "didn't want to tone The Venture Bros. down." With the revised pilot, production began in autumn of that year and the pilot was first run on February 16, 2003. The first season of the series was completed in 2004 and it was added to the summer schedule in August. Characters ] The Venture Bros. contains a myriad of unique characters with individual characteristics. Hank (voiced by Christopher McCulloch) and Dean Venture (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas) are the two titular brothers of the show; both brothers have vigorous tendencies, with Hank being primarily adventurous and Dean being "effeminate" and the more bookish of the two.It is revealed in season two of the series that the Dean and Hank we see are actually clones advanced from slug clones that are capable of retaining the thoughts and general persona of the real Venture Bros., whom had died years ago. The brothers' father and only living parent, Dr. Thaddeus "Rusty" Venture (voiced by James Urbaniak), currently runs the fictional Venture Industries. Dr. Venture assumes the occupation of a "super-scientist", although his knowledge in the field is questionable. Brock Samson (voiced by Patrick Warburton) is the muscularly exuberant and amorous bodyguard of these preceding characters. He holds a position as an Office of Secret Intelligence agent with a license to kill that he is eager to exercise. Dr. Venture's deceased father, Dr. Jonas Venture (voiced by Paul Boocock), developed an emotional and loyal robot named H.E.L.P.eR. (voiced by Soul-Bot) that helps the Ventures and others when they need help. Similar to other science fiction series, the Venture family has various recurring, antagonistic villains; they are or were members of The Guild of Calamitous Intent, the fictional guild that oversees all antipathetic movements of its members. The pernicious but ineffective The Monarch (voiced by Christopher McCulloch), his manly-voiced girlfriend, Dr. Girlfriend (voiced by Doc Hammer) and their henchmen are one of the Venture family's main villains, although Dr. Venture does not seem to think of them as obstacles. Another villain, Baron Werner Ünderbheit (voiced by T. Ryder Smith), is the dictator of the duchy of Ünderland and specifically opposes Dr. Venture due to unresolved differences between them in college. The Phantom Limb (voiced by James Urbaniak) is a high-ranking member of The Guild of Calamitous Intent and possible former lover of Dr. Girlfriend. The Ventures also have acquaintances that are used to progress stories and add to the atmosphere of the show. The expert necromancer, Dr. Byron Orpheus (voiced by Steven Rattazzi), and his Goth daughter, Triana (voiced by Lisa Hammer), rent out a portion of the Venture Compound. The flamboyant albino scientist Pete White (voiced by Christopher McCulloch) and the hydrocephalic "boy genius" Master Billy Quizboy (voiced by Doc Hammer) are former college buddies of Dr. Venture. Surviving members of the original Team Venture, a group of extraordinary people assembled by Dr. Jonas Venture, also figure into an episode of the show. Episode list Themes Popular culture references The characters, dialogue and plot in the show sometimes allude to and spoof or parody items from popular culture. Examples include characters resembling comic book counterparts, such as Dr. Orpheus parodying Doctor Strange from Marvel Comics, The Monarch referring to Baron Ünderbheit as a "dime store Doctor Doom," the parody of The Fantastic Four in the episode "Ice Station - Impossible!", and Henchman No. 21 playing with a gadget that resembles a Star Wars' lightsaber while practicing faux swordplay in the style of that used by the internet phenomenon, Star Wars kid Ghyslain Raza. The main characters and plotline is also widely referential of the Jonny Quest program. Other references include Easy Rider, Lydia Lunch, mullets, and John Woo films. The characters Major Tom and The Action Man in episode 6, "Ghosts of the Sargasso", are references to the famous David Bowie songs "Space Oddity" and "Ashes to Ashes." In fact, the dialogue in the opening flashback of the episode consists almost entirely of quotes taken from both songs. Major Tom's spacecraft is named TVC 15, the title of another Bowie song. David Bowie also plays a role in the plot of episode 4, "The Incredible Mr. Brisby" and is mentioned passingly in the Venture Bros. Movie mockumentary included on the DVD set. In the episode "Past Tense", the character of Mike Sorayama is extremely similar in personality and characteristics to the character Mike Yanagita in the 1996 film Fargo. Both characters speak with a distinct Minnesotan accent (including the phrase "son of a gun") and share an unhealthy obsession with former classmates. In fact, Mike Sorayama and Mike Yanagita are both portrayed by actor Steve Park. Independent episode plots Nearly all of the episodes in the series are independent of each other and have plot details that do not affect that of other ones. Each episode may take place days or even months after the previous episode; this may be similar to the different stand-alone plots of select episodes of Jonny Quest or comic book series. Exclusions to this may include Dr. Rusty Venture's repeated womb dreams until the episode "Return to Spider-Skull Island" or concrete happenings, such as the fact that the origin clones of Hank and Dean have no recollection of their mother or The Monarch's imprisonment after the episode "Trial of the Monarch". Trivia *In episode 12, "The Trial of the Monarch", the jury is made up of the cast and crew. *Dr. Venture's airplane, the X-1, is named after the Bell X-1 which was the first aircraft to exceed the speed of sound. Additionally, his boat is named the X-2. *Each episode is "presented in glorious EXTRA-color", as jokingly stated during the end credits of each episode. The only normal episodes that this is missing from are episode 2, "Careers in Science", and episode 13, "Return to Spider Skull Island" (however, this episode was cut down for length). *The opening sequence for episode 14, "Powerless in the Face of Death" (the premiere of season 2), has Hank and Dean Venture replaced with Dr. Venture and Jonas Jr. DVD releases The first season of The Venture Bros. on DVD was released on May 30, 2006, as officially announced by Warner Home Video http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5026. It coincides with the June 25th premiere of Season 2. Originally, it was scheduled for March 14, 2006, but was delayed until May 30, 2006. The DVD packaging and interior art was created by comic artist Bill Sienkiewicz. DVD info: (updated info as of 2/11/06) http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=5104 Disc 1 episodes: *"Dia de Los Dangerous!" *"Careers in Science" *"Midlife Chrysalis" *"Eeney, Meeney, Miney...Magic!" *"The Incredible Mr. Brisby" *"Tag Sale - You're It!" *"Home Insecurity" *"Ghosts of the Sargasso" Disc 2 episodes: *"Ice Station - Impossible!" *"Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean" *"Past Tense" *"The Trial of The Monarch" *"Return to Spider-Skull Island" Bonus features: *Includes the 2003 pilot "The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" and the 11-minute holiday episode "A Very Venture Christmas" *Deleted scenes *Behind-the-scenes mockumentary with cast and crew *Commentary Tracks on: **"Midlife Chrysalis" **"Eeney, Meeney, Miney...Magic!" **"Tag Sale - You're It!" **"Ghosts Of The Sargasso" **"Return To Spider-Skull Island" **"The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay" References *''The Venture Bros.'' Created by Christopher McCulloch (credited as Jackson Publick). 2004-present. Broadcast and DVD. * External links * The Official Venture Brothers Website * Jackson Publick's Venture Bros. Livejournal * James Urbaniak's Livejournal (James Urbaniak - the voice of Dr. Thaddeus S. "Rusty" Venture) * Adult Swim - Venture Bros. Website * Scrotal Safety Commission (A satirical site on testicular torsion created by Doc Hammer for the episode "Are You There God, It's Me, Dean") * The People's Republic of Venture (A fan site made by VB fans for VB fans and has been mentioned on James Urbaniak's livejournal as his favorite Venture Bros. fan site/forums) * *Go Team Venture! Venture Bros Fanlist * The Wiki Of Calamitous Intent A Venture Brothers Wiki Venture Bros., The Category:The Venture Bros. Venture Bros., The Venture Bros., The